Aerial photography is usually used as a tool to unveil the beauty of this world from bird’s eye however, German photographer Tom Hagen employed this technique to show the world how global warming is affecting us all. Hagen discovered these effects while shooting for his series ‘Two Degrees Celsius’. He hovered 900 metres above the Arctic sheet on an airplane to capture the melting of glaciers due to the greenhouse gases. This melting is subsequently causing the sea levels to rise that will ultimately lead to heavy flooding and displacement of about one fifth of the world’s population.
“One of the leading causes of sea level rise is the melting of ice from glaciers and ice sheets”, Hegen states. “The Greenland ice sheet alone contains enough water to raise global sea levels by more than seven meters. The Arctic is the fastest warming place of this planet…its melting surface is one of the starkest examples of climate change.”
Hagen’s photographs may seem beautiful from afar but if they are looked at closely, viewers will recognise the global threat that he intended to convey through his work. Check them out here.
All Images: © Tom Hegen
h/t: Ignant